MTA Can Fix the Subways in a Week, But Metrocard Refunds a ‘Logistical Nightmare’

The MTA pulled off a magnificent feat of technology, logistics, and perseverance when it got most of New York’s subways up and running a week after Hurricane Sandy put the system out of commission. But now that we’re ready to worry about more trivial things, such as the $30 or so that down week cost Metrocard holders, the agency’s not doing so well. It’s not that the MTA is unwilling to give back the money people lost when they couldn’t use their week- or month-long cards, necessarily. It’s just that it would be too complicated. An anonymous agency source who talked to the New York Times’ Matt Flegenheimer “said processing refunds would have been a logistical nightmare. The authority declined to explain the decision further.” It sucks, but at least we have the trainsback.